 Cop Shop
1 9 7 7 - 1 9 8 4 (Australia)
582 x 60 minute episodes
Described as 'cops and robbers with homes to go to', Cop
Shop followed the work and personal relationships of the
police officers of Riverside Police Station. By featuring women
police, Crawford Productions were moving Australian crime drama
away from being an all male dominion (as it had been to date).
Riverside also provided a kind of Upstairs Downstairs
world as the police station was home to both uniformed police and
plainclothes detectives. The upstairs detectives included Tony
Bonner and George Mallaby (ex-The Box) and the memorable
Detective J J Johnson, played by Peter Adams who had previously
usually played bad guys on TV.
Although Jeff Johnson was on the side of law and order, he
drank, slept around and was far from pure. He fell in love with a
stripper (Joanna Lockwood) and settled down to a life of domestic
bliss with her, until Lockwood decided to leave the series.
Sustaining female roles were played by Rowena Wallace as George
Mallaby's difficult wife and Paula Duncan, while comedic content
was provided by the pairing of Terry Norris as the crusty old Desk
Sergeant O'Reilly and Gil Tucker as his most naive young police
officer.
The partnership ended when Norris left the show to stand for a
seat in the Victorian Parliament. Terry Norris ultimately became a
Labor MP in Victoria, Australia.
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